A Sunny Place

A great way to eat your daily apple... (recipe)

I am making this for our own dessert tonight and tomorrow's SS dessert - this is a wonderful cake!

It's also fairly healthy!  I make ours with WW flour.

Apple Cake

1 3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup baking healthy (I use 1/2 cup apple sauce & 1/2 cup oil)

2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 T cinnamon

1 t salt

1 t vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

4 cups finely chopped apples

 Grease 9x13 pan.  Heat oven to 350.  Beat all ingredients except for apples & nuts.  Fold in apples & nuts last.  Bake 35-40 min.

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup soft butter

Cream & Sprinkle on warm cake!

Canned Apple Pie Filling

We actually make this into a apple crisp of sorts.  We dump in a pan and top with a mixture of rolled oats, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Oil, & WW flour (guestimate for consistency) then bake while you eat supper - when supper is done - bubbly crisp is ready to serve warm with Ice Cream on a cold winter night!  Yum!!!

Canned Apple Pie Filling

10 cups water

1 can apple juice concnetrate

3 cups sugar

1 heaping cup cornstartch

1  T cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp salt

Apple Slices

Begin to heat water & concentrate - mix dry ingredients - add slowly while mixing to liquid.  Heat mixture until bubbly and thickens. 

Fill your jars with apple slices (no peeling or core)  Slowly fill with syrup.  Place lids & rings on - process at 5 lbs pressure for 8 minutes.

New Salsa Recipe

This is my project today - I've never really been pleased with my salsa recipe - so I'm trying this - it came recommended by others. :0)

14 lb. tomatoes (Peeled and chopped)

5 C  chopped onions

10 green peppers (chopped)

10 fresh jalapenos (seeds removed and chopped……..unless you like it hot, then keep the seeds!)

1 C vinegar

3/8 C sugar (it’s ¼ C + 2 T)

¼ C salt

2 tsp oregano

3 tsp cumin

3 Tbsp chili powder

3 tsp garlic salt

½ C corn starch

Mix everything together except for cornstarch.  Cook for 45 min.  Add cornstarch that has been softened with cold water and cook to thicken.  Put into pint jars and process for 15-20 min.

The recipe says it makes 17 pints……I have never gotten that many.  I usually let my tomatoes sit in a bowl after they have been peeled and then pour off the excess water (we like ours a little thicker).  When I do this I usually get between 13-14 pints.

Simple recipe -tasty supper

Amounts are to your own liking.

Start a pot of rice (I'm sure you know the routine?)

1 cup white jasmine

1 cup brown jasmine

4 cups water

chopped onions

1 tsp salt

coconut oil (1 TB or so)

simmer the above.  I added cilantro at the end

1 chicken breast ( I get for about $.50/each)

chop and saute with onions and green peppers

Add mixed veggies or stir fry blend

add salt, ginger, garlic salt, water, sprinkle on some corn starch - add some OJ and simmer until thickens.  Serve over rice.  Healthy, easy, and tasty!

Pancakes (Egg free - you won't notice... too much anyway!" :0)

Pancakes

2 cups flour (I generally use WW-Prairie Gold or Pastry Flour make the lightest pancake)

1 1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1-2 T sugar

2 cups buttermilk, sour milk (I use rice milk as I am allergic to milk, water would work or OJ)

1 T olive oil

1 t baking powder

1 ts cinnamon or vanilla (optional)

Beat together and spoon onto hot griddle.

I generally make 2-4 batches at a time - have a big pancake day and freeze. These freeze very well.  This is one of our staple breakfasts at our house!

Basic Bean Soup Recipe - our supper tonight!!

2 cups (or more) dried beans (soak overnight - or use quick soak method)

Cook beans with baking soda, drain

Place in pan with water &  1 qt or so of home canned tomatoes (or store bought)

1 ham bone

1 onion, chopped

several carrots - peeled and chopped

celery - chopped

garlic - 2 cloves or equiv.

Salt & Pepper to taste

place all together and simmer away.

Serve with cornbread or fresh homemade bread (our bread is now rising....)

blessings!

wendy

Home Canning - Pizza Sauce Recipe

(We like chunky - so I just zip everything through the blender at a raw stage and just cook down until thick - skins & all!!)

Pizza Sauce

Cook 1/2 bushel tomatoes to soup stage (2 1/2 to 3 hours)  Chop or grind 3 lbs of onions & 4 hot peppers.  Strain.  Add: 1 T Basil, 1 T oregano, scant 1/2 cup salt, & 1 1/2 cups sugar.  cook another hour.  Add 4 - 12 oz cans of tomato paste.  Bring to a boil.  Place in jars & process.

Home Canning - Hot Sauce Recipe (Rice seasoning)

Hot Sauce

(this is not really hot, but it's so tasty.  I can in pints and add to 2 cups brown rice when cooking [+water])

4 large onions

12 hot peppers

6 green peppers

1 cup chopped celery

1 T Cayenne pepper

1 cup oil

1 peck tomatoes

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt.

Chop all veggies except tomatoes.  Pour oil over them.  Let stand while peeling and cutting tomatoes.  Add to veggies with sugar & salt & pepper.  Bring to boil and cook 1 hour.  Pack in hot pint jars & process.

100% WW Bread making tips - a couple things I've learned...

We have changed over to 100% WW bread - and I use WW flour in cookies, and pizza crusts.  If you haven't already done so - take time to do it slowly - start with half and half and then slowly add more WW and less white. 

If I have time to go grind at my Sister-in-law's house then I come home and have a grand baking day - bread, pancakes, and last time I did muffins, & I do tortillas when I am out.  This cuts down in what you might call the "inconvenience" of home made and makes it quite convenient to run to the freezer and pull out what you need.

Some key tips to WW bread that have actually taken me some time to learn.  My notes are all using an older kitchenaid model mixer.

-- Do not add a lot of flour! Less is better and will make a lighter bread.  As soon as  the dough clings to the hook and clears the bowl - don't add any more flour!  The dough will be slightly sticky, that's ok!

--Make sure you allow the dough to knead a minimum of 10 minutes, don't hurry it!

--If your dough falls, then just punch it down and allow it to rise again, you let it rise too long!

--an extra rising will actually make a lighter loaf of bread!

-After you have baked it, place a slightly damp towel over the loaves as they are cooling - this will soften the crusts nicely.

-- I truly think Prairie Gold makes about the lightest best WW bread out there!! :0)

The less flour one is probably the most important tip - it took me a while to realize this and I made some pretty heavy loaves and thankfully my husband was a good sport about eating heavy daily bread, until I figured it out.  The children now prefer it and complain when I occasionally grab a store bought loaf and don't have homemade.  I've noticed the store bought tastes somewhat cardboard like especially after becoming accustomed to bread made with the fresh ground flour!

www.breadbeckers.com is an excellant web site for recipes, and resources.  I use her cookbook and her bread recipe is my staple recipe!  She also has a lot of information about the health benefits of eating daily bread (made with fresh ground).  Thanks for reading! :0)

Enjoy your daily bread!!

blessings!

wendy