Peach-Nectarine Fruit Roll-Ups

Steve just bought me a dehydrator and I have been drying all different kinds of fruit but when I looked at the peaches and nectarines on the counter they were too ripe.  I have wanted to try fruit leather and this was the perfect opportunity.  I did a Google search and came up this recipe from Blissfully Content.  It worked out perfect.  I have apricots in the fridge that may end up as roll-ups as well.

About 3 pounds nectarines and peaches {combined}. You can use ANY combination of fruits.
1 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup honey {this really gives it a great texture and flavor}

Wash your peaches and nectarines really well. Cut into quarters, pit, and put into a pot on low. Use a potato masher to cook down. Add lemon juice and honey.

When fruit is heated through and it looks fairly mashed, put into a blender. Blend until smooth.

I have non-stick sheets for my dehydrator and I was able to spread one cup of puree per tray.  I tried to leave the edges a little thicker, about 1/4 inch, and the inside, about 1/8 inch.  Smooth out as evenly as possible with a spoon

Dry at 135 degrees until leathery and pliable...about 4-7 hours. Make sure there are no sticky spots in the center. 

While fruit leather is still warm, cut and roll in parchment paper.  I used scissors to cut even pieces. Store in glass jars.

Blackened Beans & Grits

Jacques from South Africa first introduced me to Grits and of course I would love them. I love cornbread so why not? I do add corn when I make them. When I saw this recipe on Cooking During Stolen Moments I thought it would be a simple side dish for dinner. I didn't have all of the ingredients that she used so this is my version.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
Paprika
Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper
Coarse salt

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until tender. Stir in beans and tomatoes. Add seasoning to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer at least 15 minutes.

3 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cup corn meal
Corn - optional

Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Mix corn meal with remaining water in a small bowl. Add corn meal mixture slowly to boiling water, stirring constantly. Add corn now if desired. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Melody's Apple Butter

We had Enrichment the other night and this is another recipe, original at the bottom of this post, that was shared. I have to admit that I made one recipe last night and there was so much cinnamon, 1/2 cup, in it that I couldn't taste anything else so I made a second batch and mixed the cinnamon batch in and now I can taste the apples. If I make it again I will start with a lot less spices and add to taste.

The good thing about having to make a second batch was that it let me try placing the apples and most of the juice in my crockpot last night and this morning when I got up they were ready to be blended and strained.

6 pounds tart Apples
96 oz. Unsweetened Apple Juice
3/4 cup Lemon Juice
3 cups Brown Sugar

6 cups Sugar
2 - 4 Tablespoons Cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons Cloves
1 1/2 teapoons Allspice
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Wash apples and then quarter them only removing any bad spots. That means that you thrown the cores and seeds into the pot as well. Cover with juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Place your apples in a blender and then through mesh sieve. Now place apples and juices back into the pot. Add lemon juice and all sugar and spices. Bring to a slow boil then reduce heat to low. Let it cook on the stove for up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally to reduce and get a wonderful thick butter. Can pour into sterile jars and process for 25 minutes. Makes 8 pint jars.

MELODY BARRIE’S APPLE BUTTER 2 WAYS
~In the crock pot:
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
4 C sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ Teaspoons Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking). Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. If desired, stir with a wire whisk until smooth or use a stick blender on low. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

~On the stove, my favorite!
Enough tart apples to fill a 20 quart Heavy stock pot at least half full
Enough apple cider or apple juice to cover the apples
1 ½ C. Lemon Juice
10 – 12 C Sugar, depending how sweet you like it. Up to 1/3 can be brown sugar
½ -3/4 C Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Cloves
1 Tablespoon Allspice
1 Tablespoon Nutmeg
1 tsp. Salt

Wash apples and then quarter them. Cover with juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Strain and force apples through a strainer (like one used for pasta) then force through mesh sieve. Now place apples and juices back into the pot. Add lemon juice and all sugar and spices. Bring to a slow boil then reduce heat to low. Let it cook on the stove for up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally to reduce and get a wonderful thick butter. Can pour into sterile jars and process for 25 minutes.

Salsa

Mom has always had the best tasting salsa and when I was visiting a couple of weeks ago I had her teach me how to make it. It was so easy tomatoes, vinegar and Mrs. Wages Salsa Mix. I just couldn't leave it as simple as that and I know that Steve likes food that he can chew so I added a few extra items and he loves it!

6 lbs. fresh tomatoes - I pureed mine because my family hates tomato chunks

2 large onions, chopped coarsely - approximately 5 cups

2 cans whole kernel corn

3 (15 oz.) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (4 oz.) package Mrs. Wages Medium Salsa Mix - I found this at Wal-Mart

1/2 cup white or cider vinegar

Wash fresh tomatoes. Scald 3 minutes in boiling water. Dip into cold water. Cut out cores, remove skins and chop coarsely.

Combine tomatoes, vinegar, onions, corn, beans and salsa mix in a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Pour hot salsa into clean, sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Cap each jar when filled. Process 40 minutes* in boiling water bath. This recipe made 10 pint jars.

* Processing time listed is for altitudes less than 1000 feet. At altitudes of 1000 feet or more increase processing time 1 minute for each 1000 feet of altitude.

Crockpot Granola

I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking and wanted to give it a try. I knew that I would be home most of the morning but had to run an errand and thought I would only be a few minutes but that turned into 45 minutes so when I got home my granola was a little more done in some places than in others but it tastes so yummy! I am attempting another batch today and changing the recipe up just a little to work for me and that is the recipe that I have put below.

5 cups oats

1/2 cup steel cut oats - I put this in just because they were in the house, can be omitted

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 T flax seeds

1 1/2 cups almonds - I didn't cut them up because we like to eat them just the way they are

1 cup Craisins - it was what I have in the house but you could use any dried fruit

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut - I put this in for Steve but he better not get used to it, can be omitted

Put all the dry ingredients into your crockpot. You'll need at least a 4 quart crockpot (I own two crockpots and I used the smaller one last time and it was hard for me really stir it and so I am using the bigger one today and it works a lot better).

Melt the butter in the microwave, add the honey and applesauce. Pour over dry ingredients and toss well.

Cover but vent with a chopstick or wooden spoon, this is so that the moisture escapes and the granola dries out. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring every so often until a golden brown. If you can smell the granola cooking, go stir or it will burn if you don't keep an eye on it.

Dump out on some parchment paper and let cool. Eat with milk like cereal, warmed with milk like oatmeal, or as is. Seal well in an air-tight container or in a Ziploc. Granola freezes well.

In my search to learn more about homemade granola I ran across an article in the USA Weekend that listed other ingredients that could be add to the basic granola recipe.

1. Classic Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dark or golden raisins Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon You can replace the 1/4 cup of honey with 2 Tbs. each of maple syrup and molasses.

2. Crunchy Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 2 Tbs. sesame seeds, 6 Tbs. currants Flavoring: none

3. Granola with Tropical Flavoring Add the coconut along with the cashews and banana chips. Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted cashews, 1/4 cup chopped banana chips, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

4. Granola with Cherries and Almonds Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup sliced almonds, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dried cherries Flavoring: 3/4 tsp. almond extract

5. Trail Mix Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup dark or golden raisins, 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips* Flavoring: none *Stir chips into the granola only after it has completely cooled.

6. Orange-Berry Granola with Pecans Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped pecans,1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup dried blueberries Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest

7. Pear Granola with Hazelnuts and Vanilla Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries, 1/4 cup chopped dried pears Flavoring: 1 tsp. vanilla extract

8. Orange-Flavored Granola with Pistachios, Mangos and Dates Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios, 1/4 cup chopped dates, 1/4 cup chopped dried mangos Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsp. allspice

Beef Taquitos

I found this recipe on the top of the roast beef cans that I purchased at Costco. My taquitos didn't take 20 minutes to bake so keep a close eye on them. I liked these with beef but I am thinking that I might try this with chicken.

2 12 oz. cans Roast Beef, drained
1 small can diced green chilies, drained
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
16 corn tortillas (8-inch)
Cooking oil spray
Garnish - salsa, guacamole, sour cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or place a baking rack over the baking sheet.

In a large bowl, mash the drained beef until shredded. Blend in chilies and seasonings, then divide the mixture into 16 portions.

Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and warm in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until tortillas are completely flexible. Place one portion of filling in each tortilla and roll up tightly. Place the rolled taquitos on the prepared baking sheet; spray tops lightly with oil. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Chicken Haystacks

This is Becky's recipe.

16 oz. can of chicken or turkey
Cream of Chicken Soup

Mix can of chicken with cream of chickn soup. Warm. Serve with your choice of the following -

Hot rice
Diced celery
Chinese noodles
Chopped tomatoes
Grated cheese
Crushed pineapple
Almonds
Shredded coconut

Dry Milk

I received this information in Relief Society. It gives some suggestions on how to use your dry packed dry milk. I use the baking with dry milk when I am making soup and it calls for milk. I remember Mom used to always mix our milk with dry milk when we were kids.

Mix it half and half with whole milk. You will have a product that much like 2% milk.
*Mix 2 quarts water with 1 1/2 cups dry milk to make 1/2 gallon of milk. Then mix in 1/2 gallon of whole milk to make 1 gallon of 2% milk. Use a wire whisk to mix

Baking with dry milk.
*If a recipe calls for 1 cup of milk, stir 3 tablespoons of dry milk into the flour and use 1 cup of water in place of milk in the recipe. Keep a container of dry milk next to your flour container for convenience.

White Sauce, using dry milk is simple, quick and cheaper than canned creamed soups.
1 cup water
3 tablespoons dry milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Boil 1/2 cup water. Mix in bowl 1/2 cup water and remaining ingredients except the butter with a whisk. When water is boiling, reduce heat. Stir in blended milk mixture. Mix until thick. Add butter.

Mexican Chicken and Rice

I have no idea where I got this recipe, but we sure enjoy it. I use the chicken chucks I got at the church cannery in this recipe.

1 Tbsp. oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cubed
1 each onion and green pepper (chopped)
1 10oz. frozen corn thawed
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. mild salsa
1 1/2 c. instant rice
1/2 c. shredded cheese

Heat oil in skillet on med. heat. Add chicken, onion, and green pepper, cook until chicken is cooked through. Add corn, broth and salsa; bring to a boil. Stir in rice; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff rice with fork. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. let stand until cheese is melted.