Crab Apple Jelly

One of the fun things we're doing in the 'hood is treating the neighborhood like our own CSA farm. This was Colleen's idea and I think it's brilliant. We tap my trees for maple syrup, we planted a strawberry patch we get to share and we picked apples from two neighbors' trees - Fireside, which I made into cider and Crap Apples, which I made into jelly. It is about a two or three day process. First, rinse the apples, then put them in water and bring them to a boil. Some recipes say boil 10 minutes, but I go an hour. Then, mash the apples down. Strain them to get the juice. I then follow the instructions enclosed in the pectin box. My friend Peg showed me how to fill the sterilized jars, place a boiled lid on, screw it on, turn the jar upside down for an hour and voila - you've canned your jelly. Works for me!

Gluten Free Beef and Broccoli (Colin's favorite)

My nephew Colin stayed with us this summer and this is what he requested most.

1 pound beef steak, sliced thinly

1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce, Kikkomen now makes one

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/4 cup cold water

1 head, broccoli florets

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoons sesame oil 

Combine soy sauce, sugar, corn starch, and water in a small bowl and set aside.  

Cut steak against the grain into thin strips about 1/4 inch thick. 

Heat a large skillet to medium high.  

Put the olive oil and steak in the skillet and cook both sides until brown, about 4-5 minutes.  

Steam broccoli in the microwave or in a steamer while steak is cooking.  

When the steak is brown, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  

Pour the soy sauce mixture over the meat and cook until it begins to thicken.  

Stir in the sesame oil. This is the secret to make it taste like it came from a fabulous restaurant.

Remove from heat, stir in the steamed broccoli and serve over rice. 

Back to the What's For Dinner conundrum

Having finally found a few go-to meals, everything will be changing up. Tried making gluten-free bread today. Kind of soupy and weird, to be honest.

G-Free

As part of going gluten free, we had to get a new toaster. The instruction manual actually has a section called "Inserting the food into the bread slots".

Celiac

Found out this week that Small Fry has celiac. Looks like we will be going gluten free! Easier said than done, but still, doable. Already cleared out the pantry. Next, the freezer.

Funny thing is, any open cereal, Fiber One and Shredded Wheat, specifically, was brought out to the chickens. They haven't touched it and neither have the squirrels. Naturally gluten free, I guess.

Slow Cooker Pork with Dried Fruit and Squash

As you know, because I am a fried cook, I want to get out of chopping whenever I can. Chopping vegetables is something I dread. Washing and merchandising the fruit so that it actually gets eaten is really arduous to me as well. Why am I the only one in the house who can wash the grapes?

Byerly's now sells cut up butternut squash, so my plan was to use that for this recipe. However, I was at Target, and decided since the recipe sounded so good, I would actually cut up a squash. I know.

This turned out so well, my husband says it's better than a restaurant meal. I served it with sweet potato and regular waffle cut fries.

Slow Cooker Pork with Dried Fruit and Squash

3-pound boneless pork loin roast
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup pitted dried plums (AKA prunes before their identity crisis and name change)
1 1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed

Combine brown sugar, ginger, salt, cinnamon and pepper and rub evenly over pork.

Place in slow cooker along with apricots, plums and squash.

Cook on high for one hour. Then reduce to low for 7 to 8 hours.

Use the fancy plates for this one.

Maple Syruping

It took 12 years for me to realize that I have two maple trees in my back yard and I could tap them. They're big enough for two taps each. I've been boiling the sap down inside in small batches. The house is so humid my hair is getting curly.

Here's a before and after:

Easy and healthy Honey/Soy Salmon

One of my go-tos is always salmon. If I can get it fresh, just some olive oil, salt and pepper, then broiling it for 10 or so minutes is great.

But it's winter in Minnesota. So I have had to accommodate frozen fish - harder for me because I have texture issue with it. But now I just pour soy sauce and honey on top and broil it. You cannot tell it was frozen. Delish. Serve with Trader Joe's sweet potato fries and haricots verts means good and quick.

Shrunken head cider for Halloween

Shrunken head cider
Peel some apples, slice them in half and carve a face. Lemon zesters and watermelon ballers work great for carving. Dip the faces in lemon juice and bake at 250 for an hour or so. Float them in your cider and serve trick or treaters. For the parents, add some spiced rum.

15 minute carmelized pork tenderloin

Before my current losing streak, I made this and it turned out very well. I love recipes that call for a handful of something. One less measuring cup to find; one less dish to wash. I think you could skip the heavy cream, too.

Carmelized Pork Tenderloin with Pecans and Apricots
2 tsp brown sugar
1.5 lb pork tenderloin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
handful of pecan halves and pieces
handful of dried apricots
splash of Jack Daniels
1 cup heavy cream

1. Rub the brown sugar all over the pork, then slice crosswise into thick medallions.
2. Melt butter and oil in pan over medium-high heat. Brown the pork 8 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and no longer pink inside. Add the pecans and apricots and cook a few more minutes.
3. Increase the heat to high and add the splash of Jack Daniels. Simmer a few more minutes until smell of alcohol is gone. Reduce heat to medium, stir in cream and simmer a few more minutes.

I served it with Schwan's mashed potatoes.

This is truly fast. I once made a chicken and fig recipe from Rachel Ray's 30 minute meal cookbook and it took an hour and a half. Sorry Rachel, but it's true.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

New England Sausage Apple and Dried Cranberry Stuffing

14 ounces white bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
1 pound sweet turkey Italian sausages, casings removed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
6 cups sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 3 large leeks)
1 pound tart green apples, peeled, cored, chopped
2 cups chopped celery with leaves
4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 cup dried cranberries (about 4 ounces), soaked in apple juice
4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 eggs, beaten to blend

1 1/3 cups (about) canned low-salt chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350°F. Divide bread cubes between 2 large baking sheets. Bake until slightly dry, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Sauté sausages in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, crumbling coarsely with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl. Pour off any drippings from skillet. Melt butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks, apples, celery and poultry seasoning to skillet; sauté until leeks soften, about 8 minutes. Mix in dried cranberries and rosemary. Add mixture to sausage, then mix in bread and parsley. Season stuffing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Mix eggs into stuffing.

To bake stuffing in pan:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 15x10x2-inch baking dish. Mix 1 1/3 cups broth into stuffing. Transfer to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil and bake until heated through, about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

More epic fails

Wow. You know you're in a bad stretch when you turn potatoes into Elmer's glue instead of mashing them.

I am planning to lean on the cooks at Trader Joe's for a while. I admit it: Cooking got the best of me.

Epic Fail

Small Fry and those her age have a phrase they use called Epic Fail. That's what my last two weeks of cooking have been. Every recipe has really been bad, and even tacos didn't taste good. My chickens haven't been laying eggs, even. I could really use some inspiration and a little luck.

This takes a while, but is so good on steak or salmon.

Jack Daniel's Marinade and Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup diced red onion

1/2 tsp finely-diced garlic

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup white grape juice

1/2 cup Jack Daniel's black label bourbon


Place ingredients in sauce pan, mix and stir. Bring to a boil, then simmer 35 to 45 minutes to reduce. It should have reduced in volume by about 1/4 to 1/3.

Turned out even better the second time

Lookee what I made

I don't even like breakfast, but I decided to make a Dutch Baby.

Leftovers

I may have mentioned before that I can't have the same thing twice in a row. That makes it harder to work full time and try to whip up a dinner every night of the week. Sometimes, I can do every other night. But being picky means more work, in the end.

Here is a new family favorite, that's easy, and requested by Small Fry.

Turkey Italian Sausage Soup

1 package Jenny-O sweet turkey Italian sausage
4 cups chicken broth (the Better Than Boullion works really well)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup acini pasta (they look like fish eggs, reports Small Fry)
1 bag baby spinach
basil - the stuff you froze from summer and haven't used yet

Remove sausage from casing and cook until brown, stirring to crumble. Drain then return to pan. Add broth, tomatoes, basil and pasta. Bring to boil and simmer 10 minutes or so, until pasta is done. Stir in spinach. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Another Trader Joe's post

Trader Joe's has some mini tacos and a sweet and sour chicken that have come in handy on nights when I don't have the energy to actually cook. Their microwavable rices are handy, too. Brown and jasmine.

At the same time that I was thinking I can't wait for that Trader Joe's near me to open, my brother was busy opposing it. He thought it would put his local grocer out of business, so he won't go to what he calls Traitor Joe's.

But I have to be honest, I went to my brother's local grocery store and it smelled. I'm serious. Something needed something - either ceiling tiles needed to be replaced or the entire dairy section. Not sure what it was, but I will stick to Trader Joe's. Sorry Mark.

Tomato Paste Tubes

The convenience of the tubes of tomato paste cannot be overstated. That is, until it squirts out all over your backsplash.

Quick cooking inevitably means chicken

Really, I just can't have any more chicken. I can't. Any time it's a recipe for 30 minutes or under, it's chicken. Chicken chicken chicken. Enough already.