Freezer Jam

I went to a new store in my area called Sprouts and fell in love! It was fresh, no soda or name-brand products anywhere. Plus, their prices were great! I seriously spent 1/2 of what I normally do for a week. An example, Braeburn apples were .44 per lb...I though it might be a joke! I loaded up on strawberries and realizing that it was humanly impossible to eat 8 cartons prior to them going bad, I decided to make a favorite of ours-freezer jam!



Now for me the bar is set high because Andrew's Aunt Becky is the queen of freezer jam. I won't be comparing mine to hers but I was pleased with the results! I made 6 jars and can't wait to put them to good use!


Yummmmm!

Lobster??

Friday I went to Costco right when they opened to pick up a few things (mainly milk). Check-out was speedy because the lines were short for once! Upon arriving home and unloading the car I realized that I had something that I did not buy (nor would really consider purchasing) in my cart and this something was $32 worth of lobster!

Immediately I called Costco and proceeding to explain how I was surprised to find this with my other items. Apparently the old man in front of me had purchased them but it was left on the check stand and was put into my cart instead. Joe (real name) thanked me for my honesty but said that the man had already come in realizing he had been robbed of his pricey dinner and told me to enjoy the lobster because if I brought it in they would have to throw it away!

First of all, I like seafood but have had lobster like maybe once (can't remember if it was crab or lobster) so I had no idea what to do with it!

If you ever have this problem here's what you do:



Cut shell in half right down the middle.
Combine butter, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper and pour over lobster
Broil 15 minutes
Garnish with lemon juice and have the butter sauce from above in little bowl for dipping


It was tasty!

A is for Artichoke

Last week I asked Andrew for our dinner ideas and he was full of good ones. We had things that aren't normally on my radar including artichokes. Now don't get me wrong I enjoy artichokes but had never made them. After purchasing them and stabbing myself with their thorns I decided not to wing their preparation and looked up a "how-to" in my cookbook bible:

So here it goes, artichoke preparation:

• Wash artichokes under cold water, making sure to rinse between each leaf.
• Pull or cut off lower petals.
• Using a stainless steel knife, cut off the stem, close to the base of the artichoke. (Tip: The stems are edible and can be left on, if desired and eaten with the petals).
• Slice off the top quarter of the artichoke, creating a flat top.
• Using kitchen shears snip off the sharp tips of each petal.
• Please cleaned artichokes, standing upright in a large soup pot.
• Fill with water to cover chokes and and the juice of one lemon.

• Cover and simmer at least 30 minutes, until petals release easily from the artichoke.
• Drain artichokes upside down for a couple of minutes.
• Serve warm with melted butter or mayonnaise

Now plain chokes were not what I was going for so I decided to grill them...hoping that would add extra flavor instead of reverting to mayo or butter.

To grill:


After boiling artichokes; preheat grill to medium. Slice each artichoke in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the tough choke and re-season artichoke. Place each artichoke half flat side down on the grill and cook for 1 ½ minutes, until lightly charred.

Two sauce options: balsamic and citrus aoili

Balsamic

1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
1/4 C. water and 1/4 C. soy sauce
1 T minced ginger
1/4 C. olive oil

Citrus aoili

2 lemons, juiced
1 orange, juiced
3 large egg yolks
½ Tbsp. whole-grain mustard
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 c. blended oil, as needed
7 chives, chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Artichoke fun-facts...besides being fun to eat, artichokes are good for you, too! One medium-sized artichoke is a good source of iodine, vitamin C, calcium, iron, protein folate, potassium and vitamins A,B1. Plus artichokes are low in sodium and have only 40 calories...minus the condiments : )

Do you have a favorite way to prepare artichokes?

Tasty Tuesday

I had a similar cookie this afternoon and loved it so much as did Carson because he devoured the whole cookie (which is rare for him) that I decided to make my own and they must be good for you because there is a vegetable in it, right!?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Oh, how I love fall and all the yummy things to eat!
P.S. baking reminded me to say that our baby weighs the same as a lb. box of sugar and is the same length too!

Tasty Tuesday

I have been meaning to post a recipe for weeks now but I am gone from 4:30 am until almost 10 pm Tuesdays so as you can imagine the last thing I want to do is type a recipe when I get home so I am doing it a day early! This recipe was made in my crock pot something I have only used 4 times including this recipe. I am happy to say that I loved the aroma that it created cooking all day and it was tasty too!

Italian Chicken

2 lb. chicken breasts, chopped
1 can (28 oz)diced/whole tomatoes
16 oz artichoke hearts
1 can (15oz) pinto beans
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 box (1.4 oz) Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1/3 C italian dressing
Hot cooked pasta
chopped parsley (optional)

In crock pot combine all ingredients.
Cook on low for 5-7 hours
Shred chicken breasts. Serve chicken and vegetables over cooked pasta.

I tried this on friends, I like it and so did they. It serves 6 and would be great for Sunday dinner.

Tasty Tuesday

The recipes are back for the summer...when I remember. For the summer I will try to post things that have been a hit at family/friend gatherings, I'm thinking salads and such.

This weeks recipe is a cake with cherry frosting that I kind of made up.
It sure looked pretty and I am a big believer in that if it looks pretty it will taste better...and it was delish! I also like to make things that look like they took awhile and taste as if they were from scratch but they aren't. I am tricky!


"We" are presenting what I'm going to call Cherry Blossom

Cake:

• 1 package of any white cake mix, I used funfetti because that is what I had on hand
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/8 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

Make the batter following the directions on the box, EXCEPT replace 2 teaspoons water with an equal amount of vanilla. Fold in sour cream. Bake according to directions given for baking a bundt cake. Cool on rack, place on serving plate.

Frosting
2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. butter
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3-3/4 c. milk
canned dark, sweet cherries to garnish and use 1/2 juice in frosting.

Pour frosting over entire cake... I then used sprinkles to accent it's curves and then dusted the cake with powdered sugar...it was yummy and serves 18-20 people- we had leftovers and my neighbors were more than ok with that!