Monday, October 7, 2013

Grape Juice

Per quart add:

1 c. concord grapes
1/3 c. sugar

Fill jar with water.  Wipe off jar rim.  Boil flats then place flats and rings on jars.  Shake jars until sugar dissolves.  Process – Steam or hot water bath – quarts – 20 min.


Apple Sauce

-Wash, remove blemishes, core and cut apples into ¼ pieces.
-Cook apples until tender.
-Press through food mill or sieve.
-Add approx. ¼ c. lemon juice for every 1-2 quarts of sauce.
-Add 2 c. water for every 5 lbs. of apples.
-Add sugar to taste.  Stir in well.
-Pour into jars.  Wipe off jar rim.  Boil flats then place flats and rings on jars. 
-Process – Steam or hot water bath – pints – 15 min., quarts – 20 min.


Apple Pie Filling

4 ½ c. Sugar                        
¼ tsp. Allspice
1 c. Cornstarch                  
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp.  Cinnamon              
3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
¼ tsp. Ground Nutmeg  
2-3 drops yellow food coloring (opt.)
¼ tsp. Ground Cloves      
5 ½ - 6 lbs. Apples, Peeled, Cored, and Sliced

In a large saucepan blend the first 7 ingredients.  Stir in 10 c. water.  Cook and stir until thickened.  Add lemon juice and food coloring.  After apples are sliced put them in a bowl of 2 c. water and 2 c. lemon juice to prevent apples from going brown.  Pack apples into quart jars leaving ½ - 1 inch head space.  Fill with hot syrup.  Use spatula or knife to help distribute the syrup.  Wipe off jar rim.  Boil flats then place flats and rings on jars.  Process – Steam or hot water bath - Quarts – 20 minutes.  Yield approx. 6 qts.



Pie – Prepare 2 crust pastry 8 or 9 inch.  Line pie plate with pastry.  Add 1 quart of apple pie filling.  Adjust top crust, cut slits, and seal.  Bake at 400 degrees for 50 min.

Apple Crisp – Empty 1 quart of pie filling into 8x8 dish. 

Mix 2/3 c. Packed Brown Sugar
½ c. Flour
½ c. Rolled Oats
¾ tsp. Cinnamon
¾ tsp. Nutmeg
1/3 c. Softened Butter. 

Sprinkle over pie filling.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min.  Top with ice cream.

Apricot Nector

Wash and pit apricots.  Boil until soft.  Push through food strainer. 

5-5 ½  quart of juice
5-6 c. water
2 ¼ c. sugar
½ c. lemon juice

Mix together well.  Fill jars.  Wipe off jar rim.  Boil flats the place flats and ring on jars.  Process – Steam or hot water bath – pint for 20 min., quarts for 25 min.  Yeild approx. – 7 qts.

Apricots

Wash apricots, cut in half and take pit out.  Place in a bowl of 2 c. water and 2 c. lemon juice to prevent fruit from going brown.  Place apricot cut side down in bottle.  Fill to ½ inch head space.  Add ¼ cup sugar to pint bottles, 1/3 – ½ cup sugar to quart bottles.  Fill with water.  Wipe off jar rim.  Boil flats then place flats and rings on jar.  Shake jar until sugar dissolves.  Process – steam or hot water bath – Pints 20 min. Quarts – 25 min.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Poppy Seed Chicken

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup sour cream
2 (14.5 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Additional Ingredients to make it fancy:
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 T lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. You can boil it with half an onion cut into large chunks to give it more flavor. Let chicken cool slightly and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.
*Note: You can layer some cooked rice on the very bottom underneath the chicken so that it's a meal in one.

Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. If you wish to add the additional flavorings stir in the Worcestershire, celery salt, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper to the soup and sour cream mixture. Pour over the chicken.
 
In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.
 
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice.  

Yogurt Ritz Chicken

Ingredients:

2 C. Crushed Ritz crackers 
2 Tbl. Parmesan Cheese 
1 Tsp. Garlic Salt 
1 Tsp. Season Salt 
8 Boneless Chicken 
1-1 1/2 C. Plain Yogurt 
¼ C. Melted Butter

Directions:


Mix crushed crackers, cheese, garlic salt, season salt into bowl.  Dip chicken into yogurt then into cracker mixture. (Start with 1 cup of yogurt and add more if you need to).  Place into greased pan. Pour melted butter over top if desired (Optional - Butter can make the chicken soggy). Bake 350 degrees for 45 min.